NexStorm™ is a Microsoft® Windows® lightning detection interface application for the Boltek™ Corporation
line of lightning detectors.

NexStorm™ seamlessly combines advanced analysis and display features with Internet integration
and interprocess communication functionality in ways that makes this application not only unique, but also
the most versatile and flexible software package for lightning detection that you will find.

Individuals and organizations who want to display their Boltek lightning data on the Internet
in near real-time, or want to have the option of easy real-time data extraction or customized presentation in various forms will find this software package especially attractive.

Professionally designed and intuitive graphical user interface. After you have installed our software, your system will
be detecting lightning within minutes! (provided there is some lightning in your area, of course)

Quick access to different parts of the program through extensive use of shortcut keys and
interactive (clickable) main window.

A TRAC report dialog which contains detailed information about each storm cell that the software is currently tracking. NexStorm™ can be configured to export
plain text reports at regular intervals, and to automatically upload them to a website

Highly accurate classification of CG and IC stroke types and polarities for Boltek ISA and PCI type detectors, using signal
processing algorithms based on latest research findings in the field of lightning physics science

First-rate close storm distance ranging. Average storm location accuracy inside 30 km (18 mi) distance radius for a well calibrated system
is less than ±5 km (±3.1 mi), thanks to the sophisticated Noise Ranging Assist feature

A symbol generator with 27 different strike symbols which can be drawn in a multitude of colors and different sizes, provides for more flexibility than
you'll ever need

Color coded display of aged data. Strikes aged up to 300 minutes can be displayed on the map and
color coded in seven different colors representing time interval of occurence

A strike history color code legend can optionally be superimposed on to the map. The legend will automatically adjust itself
to reflect your current configuration settings

Lightning Density Plot mode - See exactly where your system is detecting the strongest areas of thunderstorm activity. No confusing, artificially looking pie-slice shaped storm
areas streching over hundreds of kilometers or miles, making it virtually impossible for you to see where the core lightning activity is located

A lightning density plot color code legend can optionally be superimposed on to the map. The legend will automatically adjust itself
to reflect your current configuration settings

Optional Uncorrelated strikes filter will eliminate sporadic strike plots from the map, making the information
much more readable during intense lightning activity. No data is discarded with this filter (or ever, for that matter)! Other products have degraded detection
efficiency because of discarding data that doesn't fit certain parameters. NexStorm™ will detect and track even the weakest
storms!

Automatic zoom function with two modes. The first mode will make NexStorm™ automatically zoom in on the lightning activity closest to center. The second mode will
set the closest possible zoom level which encompasses all lightning activity visible on the map

Special LD-250 operating mode which relays information from any NMEA compatible GPS or other device that is connected to
your LD-250 lightning detector. While you are chasing storms, your current heading, speed and altitude are displayed in
real time on the NexStorm™ user interface. Also included is a resetable trip odometer and "satellites in view" indicator.
LD-250 specific features have been extensively tested on the road,
under actual storm chasing conditions!

Optional on-map heading indicator available when an NMEA compatible GPS or compass is connected to the LD-250

Concurrently running Replay that does not affect the
live lightning detection. The Replay has a continuous mode, which can replay the last 30 or 60 minutes of
the current hour, or archive mode where older archives are loaded into memory and replayed within a time interval that you specify.
The Replay feature is also perfectly suited for distance ranging calibrations of your system

Built-in, programmable screen capture of the entire user interface or the map area only. No need to have NexStorm™
occupy your desktop, the program can be minimized to the system tray while the screen captures are performed in-memory!
Screen shots can be saved in PNG (8 or 24 bit colors), Windows BMP or JPEG format. The JPEG format additionally comes with adjustable
compression level

Fully automated data archive export. If you are a software developer you can write your own software application for displaying the data online, thereby
reducing bandwidth consumption compared to uploading of static screenshot images. The format of the binary export archive is fully documented in
the user manual

Programmable FTP upload of the export archive, screen capture, or both

Programmable File Copy of the export archive, screen capture or both. Instead of uploading to a web server you can
choose to transfer the relevant export files to a different folder on your local disk or to a mapped network drive

Core functionality

NexStorm™ is officially supported on Windows Vista/7/8 but will run on virtually any Windows version. Minimum requirements are same as for the installed operating system.
For optimal performance we recommend Windows 7 or 8, 32 or 64 bit.

Supports the full line of Boltek detectors, including StormTracker PCI, LD-250 and LD-350

Multi-threaded design with ridiculously low CPU usage, even during the most intense thunderstorm activity.

On multi-core processors, NexStorm™ will by default only execute on one core, thereby freeing up remaining cores for other tasks. All while maintaining the astonishingly low CPU usage.

Highly optimized and efficient memory managment for 24/7/365 trouble free operations on any system. No need to fiddle with the program to keep it running,
or to perform daily system reboots. NexStorm™ is rock steady and will easily run for thousands of hours unattended!

(Several of our customers have jokingly remarked that our software is too stable! After leaving it
running uninterrupted for hundreds of days detecting lightning and uploading the information to the Internet, they have
simply forgotten how to use many of the available features!)

Continuous data archiving for later replay, analysis and calibration

The archive "Move upon completion" feature allows for automatic relocation of finalized daily archives to a different folder

Use any BMP or JPEG image as your background map...

...or purchase the very affordable Composite Vector Map
for optimal presentation of your lightning data. Each CVM map is custom made, centered and projected on your location. With a CVM installed,
all the available zoom levels can be exported as BMP images. This allows you to further customize your maps manually and to create background maps for StormVue NGX or other applications requiring it.
A CVM map will always cover the entire NexStorm™ view range

Each map zoom level allows the use of one custom map scaled and adapted for that particular range. By using this feature with your own background maps, you can avoid the dreaded pixelation artefacts
which will normally show up when a raster based image is over-magnified

Antenna polar alignment correction, plus or minus 90° angular offset with one degree azimuthal resolution. Also includes X-Y swap for complete reversal. You can mount your Boltek™ receiver antenna
pointed in any direction and compensate for the offset from North via NexStorm™ settings. The
change is instantaneous and visible on the map while you are adjusting

Three ranging calibration methods, from the instantaneous, quick-and-dirty Plot Scale Adjustment to the more complex General Ranging adjustment and the sectionalized Ranging Kernel, gives you full
control over the distance ranging calibration process. Additionally, the Night time ranging upshift with its built in sunrise/sunset calculator provides a dynamic ranging adjustment method which
can be used to compensate for the nightly ionospheric D-layer changes and subsequent
too close ranging of distant thunderstorms during night time

Extras

NexMap utility software included - Simple but competent image scaling and centering application, intended to help you prepare your own background maps for use in NexStorm™

NXUtil command line utility included - NexStorm™ daily archive extraction utility with a lot of options. As an example, using NXUtil you can create StormVue™ compatible export archives for
displaying historical, animated lightning data on your website

As the majority of our users will attest to, we offer a first class software support! In the extremely unlikely
event that you stumble upon a problem with our software, we will normally start investigating - and most likely find a solution - within 24 hours after
receiving your report. Additionally, our support forum with its hundreds of experienced NexStorm™ users contains a wealth of information and
is available around the clock.

Freeware version

Boltek detectors are normally shipped with NexStorm Lite, the scaled down free version of NexStorm. If you don't have NexStorm Lite
it can be downloaded here.
This is a fully functional lightning detection software with no restrictions! And you can try it for as long as you want - no strings attached.